Omega 3 Fatty Acids And Health Benefits

Some of us are definitely aware of omega 3 fatty acids and their benefits. But, many of us are not aware that fatty acids are present not only in animals but plants also. The animal based fatty acids include doosahexaenoic acid (DHA) as well as eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA). While the animal based omega 3 fatty acids comes from fish oils, plant based come from plant sources. These sources contain alpha-lionelic acid (ALA), that can be converted into Omega-3 fatty acids of the body.

But, most of us are only aware about the health benefits of animal based fish oils with EPA and DHA. But, many of us again aren’t aware about the amount of omega 3, fatty acids that our body requires, even though there is no set standard for intake of the same.

Many experts believe and recommend omega 3 fatty acids for people suffering from cardiovascular conditions particularly higher doses for people having high cholesterol levels. Prescribed medications that are FDA approved are available for people with conditions rather than the supplements.

Omega 3 acids are recommended only for adults and children should not be given any supplements of omega 3 acids before consulting the doctor. Though natural sources of omega 3 fatty acids can be consumed by all irrespective of ages, only if you have no significant allergies around the same.

Natural Sources of omega 3 fatty acids include Cod liver, Soybeans and tofu, Walnuts, Salmon, trout, tuna and sardines, to name a few. The international organization AHA recommends adults for males and females except pregnant women to increase the intake of omega 3 fatty acids

Even avoiding the intake of omega 6 fatty acids that include eggs, meat as well as oil can help in increasing the levels of omega 3 fatty acids in blood. Balancing of omega 3 fatty acids to that of omega 6 can help you manage many health conditions in a better way and reduce the risk of certain conditions as well. As per reports people in USA consume 14-25 times more omega 6 fatty acids as compared to omega 3 fatty acids and this imbalance is not good for health, certainly.

Having said that, omega 3 fatty acids supplements should not be consumed without consulting your physician because they do have certain side effects particularly pregnant women with a diabetes risk should avoid them.

*Sourced from the Internet

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Thunderclap Headache – Know More About This Sudden Intense Painful Condition

This is rare kind of headache that starts suddenly out of the blue and is an experience you won’t forget. The intensity of it is very high, something you would not have experienced ever. It lasts for a while but that few minutes could be to painful. No wonder, it is known to be worst headache in one’s life.

young woman who have a headache

Though many of us might just forget about it once it is gone, it is advisable to get yourself checked if it happens to you because it could be life threatening. Even if it is not, better to visit a doctor. The symptoms of thunderclap headache include-

  1. Sudden high intensity headache
  2. Vomiting or nausea
  3. Headache with neck or lower back pain
  4. Dizziness and losing consciousness
  5. Experiencing the worst ever headache

The intensity of pain of a thunderclap headache can reach its zenith is a matter of 60 seconds. Sometimes it just goes away forever while at times it could last over a period of seven days. There is a difference between thunderclap headaches and migraine but thunderclap headaches that are not categorized as life threatening are considered as a kind of migraine only.

Triggers / Causes

A thunderclap headache is known to be the result of bleeding in the brain or a symptoms of subarachnoid hemorrhage. The life threatening causes for this headache include –

  1. Internal bleeding due to rupture of blood vessel in brain
  2. Ischemic stroke
  3. Hemorrhagic stroke
  4. Inflammation of blood vessel
  5. Reversible cerebral vasoconstriction syndrome

The common triggers though could include bowel movement strain, injury, sexual or physical activity as well.

*Sourced from the Internet

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5 Common Food Allergens in India

Allergies are very common amongst us. Either we know we are allergic to stuff based on our experience post consumption of these foods or we aren’t. Many people have hiccups on eating spicy stuff like a chilly, while many get a runny nose. There are people who suffer from lactose intolerance and suffer from diarrhea after consuming foods like milk or cheese. But, if you think all these are allergies, then you aren’t completely right. These can be categorized under food intolerance or insensitivity. A food allergy is not the same. It occurs when your body considers harmless food to apparently harm the body. Food allergies could range from creating simple reactions like rashes on skin, or irritation to eyes or breathing problems to turn out to be life threatening if immediate steps are not taken. The best way to keep yourself safe is to be aware of such triggers and avoid them.

5 Common Food Allergens in India

Let’s look through 10 different food allergens and their side effects or reactions they cause. The most common allergens are as follows –

Eggs – The trigger that causes food allergies in eggs is egg protein like conalbumin, ovumucoid and ovalbumin. This allergy is found mostly in children than in adults. Some of the allergens are destroyed when the eggs are cooked but not all. This allergy can also cause anaphylaxis. The allergy can vary from person to person. While some might be allergic to yoke, some to egg white and some to all.

Fish – Fish allergy could be really harmful. It can be life threatening and lead to anaphylaxis. The allergy can show reactions like throat swelling, diarrhea and puking, skin irritations, blood pressure drop and anaphylaxis as well.

Milk – Many children may be allergic to cow’s milk. It can also be passed to the child indirectly through breast feeding. Many children out-grow of the allergy once adults but one fifth of them are said to have it in their adulthood too. The presence of the milk antibodies can be determined with the help of the blood test.

Soyabean – Soy bean is also one of the common allergy to have. The reactions of soya bean allergy includes vomiting, diarrhea, ashes as well as stomach cramps. Sometimes it could also cause swelling of the tongue, lips as well as hand, feet and puffed eyes too. Other reactions include bloating, flatulence. Though, it rarely gets life threatening and cause anaphylaxis.

Shellfish – Shell fish includes aquatic life like shrimp, oyster, crabs, mussels, clams, scallops, to name a few. This allergy can get serious and even vapor of the cooking shell fish can be allergic. The reaction are very much similar to other allergic reactions

As far as allergens go, prevention is always the best idea. So be aware of allergies if you have any and avoid food that can cause allergies primarily. Also, in case you get one for the first time, take immediate action and consult a doctor without wasting much of a time.

 

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*Sourced from the Internet

Another Step Towards Preventing Heart Disease – A Vaccine To Lower Cholesterol Levels

The word cholesterol has always been able to raise eyebrows of people because the rising levels of cholesterol is a factual indicator of growing heart disease. While there has been a lot of research and development in the field of cardiac study, here is some further news around the same. Well, lowering cholesterol for a healthy heart is a known fact. We all know how high levels of low density lipo-protein (LDL), also known as bad cholesterol can lead to a stroke due to atherosclerosis or the build up of plaque in the arteries thereby clogging them.

Now, we have this vaccine named Ato4A that has the ability to lower cholesterol levels in the body. It is a cholesterol lowering vaccine by nature and its role is to induce the antibodies production against an enzyme by name PCSK9 responsible for preventing the LDL cholesterol clearance from blood. It apparently attacks the PCSK9 enzyme and reduces the buildup of LDL cholesterol.

Preventing Heart Disease

The vaccine has already been experimented on mice. After feeding the mice with high cholesterol based western food for a while in order to increase atherosclerosis. The findings clearly showed some amazing results.
While the total lowering in cholesterol was a whooping 53%, the reversal of the atherosclerotic damage to blood vessels was a startling 64% and reduction in the biological markers of blood vessel inflammation by 21-28%. The researchers also found that the antibodies were functional throughout the study with increased levels of concentrations towards the end of it.

The PROCESS
Now, the PCSK9 protein is responsible for blocking the LDL cholesterol receptors. Due to this our body fails to get rid of this Cholesterol from blood. When the vaccine Ato4a is injected in the body it starts producing antibodies that in turn block the PSCK9’s function. As a result the activity of LDL cholesterol receptors increases.

A notable difference though between the conventional vaccines and Ato4A is that usually the antibodies in conventional vaccines are only specific to foreign bacterial and viral proteins. While Ato4A induces antibodies against body proteins.

Thus, as per researchers the next step was to take the study forward to human beings and see how the results fare. If it works then surely, this discovery of sorts is going to help fight heart diseases and stroke more effectively in the times to come.

Dr. H. P. Prabhuswamy, MBBS, MS, M. CH, FICC, FIACS, Cardiac Surgery, Professor & HOD, Dept. of CTVS, RRMCH and team conducted a Minimally Invasive Cardiac Surgery.